Claiming a stake
by ficklefrog
Summary: It's the summer before they become seniors. Santana misses Brittany. So much. But Brittany only wants to be with her if they can be an official couple. Santana knows this. She just needs to find a little bit more courage. She's working on it.


A/N: This was written from a fic exchange prompt: Brittany/Santana Second first time

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It was stiflingly hot and the air stood dead still. Santana lay on the couch exhausted. Her skin was sticky with sweat and she slowly fanned herself with a magazine. What a perfect day for the air conditioner to crap out. Not. She had stripped down to a bikini top and minimal shorts but it didn't help. She turned her head and looked at the clock on the wall. It had just gone two in the afternoon. She considered escaping to an air conditioned café or even the public library to get away from the heat but that meant going outside and getting into a no doubt scalding hot car.

Slowly she raised herself from the couch and made her way towards the bathroom again. She quickly undressed and stepped into the shower. The cool water soothed her hot skin. She turned the temperature down further, which caused her to shiver slightly. Finally she could breathe again. Goose bumps were spreading down her body and her nipples hardened from the cold. She looked down at herself. She had turned a dark bronze colour through the course of the summer and sported clear tan lines. The colour of her breasts seemed almost creamy white in contrast to the rest of her skin, except her ass that was th7e same pale colour as her chest. She turned her face up towards the gushing water and let it wash over her. She ran her fingers through her hair making sure it got soaked through.

She thought about calling Quinn to ask if she wanted to meet up later. Maybe go for coffee or an evening swim in the lake. In this heat the days were insufferable but the evenings were just pleasantly warm.

Quinn had returned from her summer holidays out east a few days ago. They met up the previous night to go see a movie and had coffee with Tina, Puck, Mike and Finn. Finn and Kurt had spent most of the summer in a cabin their parents had rented, Mike and Tina had been to Asian camp again and Puck had worked as a pool cleaner most of the summer. Santana had been to San Diego to visit her mother's cousins but she'd been back in Lima for two weeks now. Rachel was staying with her aunt and uncle in New York and wasn't due back until a few days before school started. They were going to be seniors this year.

Santana reluctantly turned off the shower and reached for a towel. Her thoughts strayed to Brittany. She didn't want to think about Brittany! They hadn't seen each other in almost two months now. A few days after spring term ended Brittany and the rest of her family had gone on vacation to the Netherlands to visit relatives.

Santana had received a post card. There was a picture of a windmill and a large round cheese. On the back was Brittany's untidy handwriting:

"_Hey S!_

_Having lots of fun and eating cheese. Guess what, they put cake sprinkles on sandwiches here. You'd like it here. There are lots of dykes. Get it? ;)  
>Tomorrow we're going to some fair in Rotterdam. <em>

_Miss you tons!_

_xox_

_Love  
>B."<em>

Finding the post card in the mailbox was like taking a hammer blow to the head. It was so unexpected yet so normal, a post card from a friend on her holidays. Santana had held the post card to her chest, hugging it. Then she read the few sentences again, over and over. They hadn't talked much before she left. She wasn't even sure when Brittany was going to be back.

Santana dried her body with the towel and wrapped it around her head when she was finished. She walked back into her bedroom and stood in front of the mirror. She looked at herself, and then closed her eyes. She imagined a pair of long strong arms wrapping themselves around her. A naked body pressing gently against her from behind, soft lips caressing her neck. She could see the mirror image of them on the inside of her eyelids. Long blond hair falling over her own shoulders, her hands stroking the light skinned arms. The elegant slender hands slowly moving across her stomach, start travelling up towards her breasts, long fingers beginning to gently squeeze them .

Santana tilted her head back, one hand cupping a breast, the other sliding down her abdomen stroking her own skin, willing it to be someone else's hand. She hesitated for a moment before letting her fingers part the folds between her legs. She gasped as she let her fingers slide up and down, rolling her nipple with her other hand. She imagined a hot ragged breath against her ear and her hand moved faster. Her knees gave way a little as she pushed inside herself, pretending the fingers weren't her own. She breathed hard as she brought her other hand down to finish herself off with short fast strokes. It didn't take long. Santana whimpered and staggered forward a step as she came.

She couldn't bear to open her eyes to look at her own flushed image in the mirror. Instead she blindly turned around and walked the few steps to her bed. The sweat was rolling off her back. What a waste of a shower! She lay down on the bedspread, still trying to catch her breath, feeling the pulsating sensation between her legs starting to slowly subside.

She couldn't keep doing this, pretending that Brittany was going to be her lover again. '_Move on Lopez, god damn it!_' she told herself. '_Find someone else. There has to be someone else. Even if it wouldn't be the same._ '

Sitting in the café she watched Quinn lock her car and walk towards her. It occurred to her how well Q's new haircut suited her. It made her look a little older and gave her appearance more attitude. Wearing large sun glasses she looked like a film star. Somehow Quinn always managed to look like the heat didn't bother her. Her hair was never a mess and her fair skin never looked clammy or sunburnt.

"Hey! Sorry I'm late." Quinn sat down at the table. Santana sipped her frappuccino.

"No worries. What have you been up to today?"

"Hiding in my room watching dvd's with the AC turned up to max. I can't believe this heat!"

Quinn ordered ice tea and ice cream.

"Wanna drive up to the lake for a swim?"

"Only if we take your car." Santana nodded towards Quinn's convertible.

"It was weird seeing Finn again last night. Don't know if I'm still in love with him or not. I don't think I am but I miss being his girlfriend anyway. I liked the idea of us."

"He's a schmuck for breaking up with you and he's a bit of a dork anyway. You can do better Q."

"Can I? Cos I'm not so sure. Thing's haven't exactly been smooth sailing for me lately. Feels like everything has turned to shit. Finn, prom queen, nationals…The list goes on." She sighed deeply.

"Well, it hasn't exactly been all rainbows and unicorns for me lately either. I miss her Q. Miss her so fucking much!" Santana looked miserable. "If I get a cramp or something at the lake, don't rescue me. Just let me sink," she moped.

"Yeah, I can see myself explaining that to your mom. Sorry S. No can do!" Quinn grinned.

They finished their drinks and ice cream and headed towards Quinn's car.

The water glittered in the early evening sunlight. Quinn flung her bag down and put out a blanket on the lawn. Santana removed her shirt and sat down. She took out bottles of water from her bag and handed one to Quinn. Then she leaned back and propped herself up on her elbows. The lawn by the lake was full of people, families having picnics. Elderly couples appreciating the warm evening air and several groups of teenagers sitting around the lake.

Santana looked at a group of girls. They were about her age, laughing and touching each other in a friendly way. She let her eyes travel over their bodies. One of them was a blonde with long hair and a toned slender body that suggested she worked out. Santana took in her strong straight shoulders, her perky breasts, taught stomach and long legs. The similarities were undeniable. She was attractive. Not as attractive as Brittany but still very good looking. Santana wondered to herself if the girl could be open to a bit of flirting. What would it feel like to hold her in her arms? What did her lips taste like? What did she sound like when she got excited? Santana toyed with the thought of going over to her. Flirting was an art she was well versed in.

She was brought back from her ponderings by a smack on the arm.

"Ouch!"

"Stop staring! You're practically licking her body with your eyes!" Quinn chided.

Embarrassed Santana reached for her sunglasses and put them on.

"Was not!" she replied. "Let's get in the water."

"Need to cool down?" Quinn continued teasing, raising an eyebrow suggestively.

"Shut it Fabray!" Santana stepped out of her shorts and started walking towards the water, passing the blonde at a close range.

The water was clear and refreshing. Santana inhaled deeply and dived down below. The dark, cool quietness of her submarine existence instilled a sense of calm.

It lasted all of forty seven seconds before the need to breathe became too great.

The following days the sun continued to relentlessly shine out of the sky and the temperature stayed well above thirty degrees. Santana found herself tossing and turning in bed at night, the heat stealing her sleep. In the mornings she woke up sweaty and still exhausted. Both Quinn and herself went swimming at the lake most days or hung out in an air conditioned mall, window shopping and drinking iced coffees. They'd sit next to each other in companionable silence, watching people bustle around them. She appreciated that about her friendship with Quinn, hanging out together was so effortless.

Santana had twenty minutes to get to the pool-hall. The whole gang would be there for a pool tournament. She smugly remembered beating Puck last time. Mike had won the tournament, beating them all by a mile but that was probably on account of one of his Asian superpowers. Santana didn't particularly mind. Quinn was utterly hopeless at pool but seemed to enjoy herself all the same. Santana drove as fast as she dared and leapt out of the car as soon as she got to the pool hall. She hurried inside.

Everyone was already there making a tournament chart deciding who would play who and in which order. Everyone including Brittany. Santana stopped in her tracks. She hadn't been prepared for this. Tina caught sight of her and waved happily, drawing everyone's attention to her presence. She forced a smile and waved back at Tina. Quinn gave her an '_I-had-no-idea-look'_ and shrugged. Brittany looked at her expectantly but didn't move.

"Miss Lopez, you're playing me in the first match," Kurt said smiling at her.

Santana quickly made up her mind and walked up to Brittany. It would only be more awkward if she waited 'til later.

She wanted to fling her arms around Brittany and hold her tight. She wanted to tell her how much she'd missed her. She wanted to kiss her here and now.

"Hey Britts. When did you get back?" she said as calmly as she could.

Brittany looked a little disappointed at the unenthusiastic greeting but she still smiled at Santana.

"Three days ago."

"Three days?" Santana replied incredulously. "Why haven't you called?" She didn't mean to ask the last question. It just escaped her. She sounded a little upset.

Brittany looked down at her shoes.

"I wasn't sure you wanted me to," she said quietly. She slowly looked up to see Santana's reaction. She watched as conflicting emotions and thoughts flickered across Santana's face. Brittany thought it looked a little bit like a silent movie. She saw it all. The love, the fear, disappointment, joy, hesitation, anger, want and sadness. Then in a split second the face had reset to neutral mode.

"Of course I wanted you to call." Santana nearly whispered. She took a step forward and embraced Brittany. She couldn't help herself. She had to. She simply couldn't resist. It was like a drug. Her body ached to touch Brittany, who hugged her back. It felt so good and deceptively safe. '_Get your shit together Santana! Deliver for once in your life! She'll give you everything you want. Get it the fuck together, damn it!_' she cursed herself.

Puck finished the chart and everyone was assigned opponents and tables before they started.

Santana was kicking Kurt's ass.

"I suck at this!" Quinn shouted out in frustration. She had managed to sink the black eight ball on her third shot, giving Tina an easy win. Santana glanced over to the table where Brittany was playing Puck. She drew in a sharp breath and closed her eyes. Brittany was busy taking a shot at a yellow ball across the table. As she leaned forward her short summer dress rode up to barely cover her underwear, exposing her long legs. Santana swallowed hard as unwanted images formed in her head. Brittany. The pool table. Brittany on the pool table. Herself straddling Brittany.

"You ok, Santana?" Kurt was standing right next to her looking a little concerned.

"Yeah…Yeah it's just the heat getting to me." She quickly wiped her brow and continued playing, making sure not to look at Brittany again.

As per usual Mike won. Brittany came in second, followed by Finn. Santana made her excuses as soon as they finished playing. She saw the look of disappointment on Brittany's face but she couldn't stay. She needed to work out a strategy for how to cope with meeting Brittany. Unprepared, she just couldn't do it.

"We did it for Kurt. We'd do it for you too, you know. Be there, like." Quinn sounded serious.

"What about everyone else?"

"Since when do you care so much about everyone else? Tell me who matters more to you? You, Brittany or them?"

Santana sighed deeply.

"I'll think about it. Goodnight Q." She hung up the phone and put it down beside her on the bed in the dark.

'_Brittany or them? Brittany or them?_' The words echoed in her head.

Bloody heat! Irritably she flung the covers off herself. Sleep seemed like a distant notion. Pros, cons, what-ifs, and maybes ran through her head like freight trains.

'_Just fucking do it! Do it!_' She held her breath. What choice did she have? Living like a coward for the rest of her life? Shying away had never been her MO before.

Santana pulled in next to Finn's car in the parking lot. Quinn and Tina got out and the three of them collected their stuff from the boot. The sun was blazing down from a cloudless sky. Another scorching hot day in Lima. They had arranged to meet the rest of the glee club on the lawn by the lake.

The place was packed. Searching the lawn for their friends they finally found Puck, Mike and Mercedes lying on a large picnic blanket. Next to them Kurt lounged in a foldable sunchair, sipping on a bottle of water.

"Ladies" Kurt raised his sunglasses and greeted them.

While Tina spread out their blanket, Santana removed her sandals and her t-shirt. Quinn applied sun lotion on her arms and within minutes they were lying down turned towards the sun. As usual their topic of conversation was the merciless heat.

Quinn propped herself up on her elbows.

"Where are Finn and Brittany? Were they not coming?"

"They went to buy ice-cream," Puck replied without moving.

As he finished his sentence, Finn approached them with a bag full of ice-cream cones.

"Where's Brittany?" Quinn inquired.

"Oh, she started talking to some girl in the queue. I think they're still over there." Finn nodded towards the ice-cream shop. Quinn's eyes scanned the part of the lawn that led down to the water. They landed on Brittany deep in conversation with a tall blond girl. Quinn instantly recognised the girl as the blonde Santana had eyed in the same place a few days ago.

'_Oh fuck me!'_ Quinn thinks to herself. What to do… Notify Santana or pretend she hadn't seen Brittany.

Hesitantly Quinn nudged Santana and nodded towards Brittany and the blond girl. Slightly worried Quinn looked at Santana who stared at the two girls with a frown on her face, melting ice-cream dripping down on her hand. Brittany and her new acquaintance seemed to really enjoy each other's company.

The two blondes smiled at each other. The girl moved her hands animatedly when she talked. They seemed completely engrossed in their conversation. Brittany shifted her weight to one foot and curled the other around her leg. She laughed at something the girl said. The other girl laughed too and put her hand on Brittany's shoulder and leaned forward. What the fuck? Santana turned to Quinn.

"Look at them! That blond bitch is all over Brittany! Will you go rescue her Q?"

Quinn stared at Santana in disbelief.

"You're fucking joking? First of all, do you think Brittany looks like someone who needs to be rescued right now? I don't even think she looks like she _wants _to be rescued. Secondly…" Quinn rolled her eyes before locking her gaze firmly on Santana and did that annoying Quinn-face again with one eye brow raised. The challenge in her look screamed at the Latina and caught her off guard. Santana bit her lip. Shrieks of laughter coming from the two blondes made her look up. They were laughing so hard they leaned on each other for support. Brittany's bare arms flung over the other girl's naked shoulders.

There was a blur of movement.

"S…" Quinn called after Santana.

"Wow! She's like fucking Speedy Gonzales" Quinn mused to herself. This was going to be good. She leaned back.

Santana had sprinted off in the direction of the two laughing girls. Within a matter of seconds she had grabbed Brittany by the shoulders and spun her around, laying a smouldering kiss on Brittany's lips. It all happened so fast none of them realized what was going on until Brittany was firmly placed in Santana's embrace and kissed like she'd never been kissed before. Santana pulled her closer until their bodies were flush against each other. Santana's hands moved slowly up and down Brittany's back.

Quinn's jaw dropped as she gawked at her two friends kissing like the world was going to end at any moment. The blond girl also stared at them, looking slightly confused. A few boys wolf whistled and cheered them on. Kurt applauded enthusiastically. As they broke apart they were both gasping for air. Still wrapped in each other's arms, Brittany grinned at Santana who smiled back, eyes clouded over with want.

"Let's split" she said in a thick voice.

She looked over Brittany's shoulder at the blond girl and pointed at Brittany's back as she silently formed the word "Mine!" and offered a satisfied smirk.

Santana grabbed her t-shirt and quickly stuffed it into her bag. She pulled her shorts up with one hand digging for her car keys with the other and then they were off.

Quinn slowly shook her head, looked at Tina and both of them shrugged.

Santana sped down the road towards town. Two thoughts ran through her head in a loop: "She's mine!" and "Oh fuck! What have I done?"

The car came to a screeching stop in front of Santana's house. They quickly got out and almost trotted to the front door. Santana fumbled with her keys, tried the wrong one, dropped them but eventually got it right. She opened the door and called out just to make sure no one was home. The house was empty.

There was a light thud as Santana's back hit the wall. In a flash Brittany had pushed the Latina a step backwards, pinning her against the wall with her body. She pressed her lips to Santana's mouth coaxing the other girl to part her lips with her tongue. It didn't take long for Santana to comply. Santana let out a sigh as their kiss deepened and she pressed her body even closer to Brittany.

When they breathlessly pulled apart Brittany smiled coyly at Santana.

"So you're finally staking your claim? It took you long enough." She leaned in and with her lips touching Santana's ear she whispered "I'm glad you did. So very glad."

Brittany grabbed Santana's hand and started leading her upstairs.

They closed the door behind them, just as a precaution. The confidence Santana had shown at the lake had all but vanished as she stood in front of Brittany. Suddenly she felt like they'd never done this before. Like it was all brand new and she didn't know where to start. She was still in her bikini top and miniscule shorts and felt acutely aware of her lack of clothing.

"Come." Brittany said and walked over to the bed. She crawled up and lay down on her side. Santana followed hesitantly. What had once started off as almost a joke, innocently fooling around, had suddenly turned gravely serious. Even when Santana started to realise what was really going on, they could still hide behind the "friends with benefits" label. Now, all the safety walls had tumbled down and the pretences had been torn away. This was for real.

"I...I..." She bit her lip as she felt her voice choking up.

"I know honey. I know and that's why this is so awesome!" Brittany pulled her closer and kissed her. Gently at first, exploring Santana's lips with her own. When the tip of her tongue ran along Santana's lower lip, the other girl opened her mouth to let their tongues meet.

Brittany's hands trailed along the skin on Santana's back, pulling her closer and placing a leg between Santana's. Their breathing picked up pace, the heat they felt at the lake returning.

'_Now I remember again. I remember!' _Santana thought to herself and smiled into the kiss.

Brittany pulled the string at the back of Santana's bikini top and slid the strap over her head.

"Someone got a tan this summer?" she mused as she kissed the paler skin of Santana's breast. The Latina gasped as Brittany sucked her nipple into her mouth. She licked the hard bud before drawing in a sharp breath causing a rush of cold leaving goose bumps in its trail.

Brittany's hand reached down for the button in Santana's shorts and pulled down the zipper.

"Take them off" she whispered.

Santana sat up and wriggled out of her shorts and bikini bottoms. Then she turned to the remaining pieces of clothing on Brittany's body. Feeling her confidence returning she quickly pulled off Brittany's shorts and removed the girl's bikini top. Admiring her work she straddled Brittany's hips and lowered herself with a satisfied sigh.

Brittany's hips bucked up towards Santana who leaned forward to take one of Brittany's nipples in her mouth.

"I missed you Santana. I've been waiting so long for this. Feel how much I missed you." She took Santana's hand and guided it down between her legs. Making contact with Brittany's wet folds Santana closed her eyes and moaned as she nearly collapsed on top of Brittany.

"Jesus Britts!" she murmured.

She removed her hand and started grinding against the blonde, kissing her hard, pressing their breasts together. Brittany pushed her hips up to meet Santana's movements.

"Move up, let me taste you," Brittany panted.

Santana slowly moved up Brittany's body, manoeuvring her body to allow her to lower herself down on Brittany's breast, coating it with her wetness. Grinding lightly causing a hard nipple to rub against her clit, she let out a throaty moan and let her head fall back. As Santana moved slightly Brittany felt her nipple tease the warm wet entrance.

"You're fucking incredible," Brittany gasped awestruck as she watched Santana. This was quite an image to behold. She placed her hands on the other girl's hips pushing her down harder.

"Can't take this anymore… Move up further," Brittany pleaded. Satisfied she felt Santana shift, placing her knees on either side of Brittany's head and lowered herself again, this time onto Brittany's outstretched tongue. The blonde groaned as she got what she wanted.

"Oh fuck!" Santana gripped the headboard for support as she slowly started to ride Brittany's tongue. It took all the control she could muster to keep a slow pace. She wanted to draw this out, feeling she was dangerously close to coming already.

As Brittany pulled her tongue out and let it run the full length of Santana's slit landing on her clit, Santana nearly lost it, involuntarily jerking forward.

Brittany put one arm around Santana's hips and let her other hand wander down her abdomen to rest between her legs.

"I'm touching myself now," she whispered hoarsely before returning her tongue to Santana's clit licking it with short fast strokes. Santana held her breath with her eyes closed. It was nearly too much. The pleasure was so intense and she felt herself getting impossibly close. Brittany knew what it meant when Santana went quiet like that and it made her insanely aroused. She rubbed her clit faster and harder, quickly bringing herself close to the edge as well.

"I'm gonna come," Santana breathed, speaking with great effort, as her body tensed and she jerkily started to thrust her hips forward. Her knuckles whitened as she gripped the headboard harder, riding out her orgasm.

As soon as she felt able to move again, she quickly eased herself down next to Brittany who was dancing on the edge of release. Swiftly she ran her hand down the length of Brittany's side, crossing over her hip and finding its mark in the sleek warm wetness. With a quick firm stroke she drove two fingers in. Brittany let out a loud moan, her hand moving even faster. Santana added another finger and pushed in as far as she could. She closed her eyes and shuddered with pleasure as she felt Brittany's walls pulsing around her fingers. As she heard Brittany scream out her name, she felt tears burning in her eyes.

They lay quietly, arms and legs tangled, exhausted after their emotional and physical releases. Santana stroked Brittany's hair, occasionally kissing the top of the blond head. Feeling their naked bodies sticking together in the summer heat, Santana looked down at them. She loved the contrast between her own darker skin and Brittany's fair complexion. She put a hand on Brittany's hip, admiring the image. She smiled at Brittany.

"So I guess this is it. Isn't it? You're officially my girlfriend."

"And you're officially my girlfriend", Brittany echoed. They laughed.


End file.
